After the War
by missparker85
Summary: Ginny has to pick up the pieces after she loses her family and she does so at Snape manor. GWSS
1. chapter one

After the war, Ginny was the only Weasley left. Well, her father was still alive but in the incurable ward at St. Mungo's. He didn't recognize her and he couldn't speak. He sat in a chair by a window in a white, cotton robe. The nurses said that he had no concept of time, no concept of anything, really, and so eventually, Ginny stopped visiting. Bill, Charlie, and her mother had died early – all members of the order. Percy, they had heard, had fled early – left Britain all together she would imagine. She didn't know where he was and she didn't care. The twins died in the destruction of Diagon Alley. A magic equivalent of a muggle bomb, the newspaper said. Just a tiny pop and everything was in ruins and everyone in mile radius was dead.

And then Ron, always at Harry's side, had jumped right in front of Harry and took a fatal blow. He had saved them all, really. Ron died at the wand of Voldemort so that Harry could succeed. Harry was in St. Mungo's too, she heard, though he never accepted visitors. He was tired, they said, and he deserved a rest. Ginny thought he was hiding and that he might stay there sleeping forever. He'd lived enough for three people already and he was only 22.

Now, it was only Ginny. She had returned to the burrow, in shock and alone. The whole area was deserted. She was starving and filthy – hadn't eaten in days and showered for longer. But most of all, she was tired. She didn't even make it up any stairs or to a bed. She just climbed into her father's easy chair and closed her eyes.

The noise of someone apparating woke her. She was too tired to even stand or call out to ask who was intruding in what was now her house. It could be a death eater coming to finish her off, even. She just didn't care. She closed her eyes again and waited for it.

Strong arms lifted her up and she opened her eyes again wearily.

"It's you." She said softly. She was surprised but she felt safe in his arms, like a child again.

"Are you strong enough to apparate?" He asked her.

"Oh, no." she said. "You'll just have to leave me."

"Wrap your arms around my neck and hold tightly. I don't want to lose you along the way." He ordered. She did what he said, holding on to him tightly, weaving her fingers into the ends of his long, black hair. He apparated and she felt disoriented, dizzy, and then nothing at all.

She awoke warm and comfortable. Someone had come into the room she was in, she'd heard the door open. Where was the room she was in? She opened her eyes. The room was large, white, and sunlit and strangely impersonal. A hotel room? A guestroom? A hospital?

"You're awake!" It was professor Sprout – someone she hadn't seen in a long time, someone she never thought she'd see again.

"Where am I?" she asked the doddering woman who stood holding a tray of food that smelled delicious. She wasn't she she'd ever seen professor Sprout not covered in potting soil.

"Snape Manor." She said. "And Severus says I am to get you to eat something."


	2. chapter two

"Professor Snape?" she asked. She could barely remember. 

"Oh yes. Came back with his arms full of you. You were delirious." Sprout confessed. She set the tray down on the nightstand next to the double bed Ginny occupied.

"I can't really… it's all so fuzzy." she admitted.

"Well, just eat your soup. There is a bathroom though that door if you'd like a bath. Someone will be by to check on you in a while." Sprout said and bustled out. Ginny, still utterly confused, picked up the bowl of chicken soup and ate it quickly. She was hungry. She drank the tea as well and felt a bit better. A bath sounded simply delightful. Someone had taken off her clothes and left her in her tank top and underpants. She got up slowly and made her way to the bathroom. It was small – a sink, a toilet, and a claw foot tub but there was a bar of soap and a clean towel so she was happy.

The hot water exhausted her and she realized she had nothing to wear and no idea where her want was. The towel was green and big enough so that she could wrap it around her twice. She was skin and bones. She left the steam filled bathroom and sat wearily on the bed. She looked around. There was a closet that had only empty hangers. In the dresser, she found a robe, green and terrycloth and she put it on and lay back on the bed. It wasn't long before there was a rapping on the door. She made sure she was covered by the robe – it was way too long for her – and called for them to enter.

"Oh, Professor Snape!" she said, shocked to see him so soon. She figured he'd be busy. She realized she had no idea what he did outside Hogwarts or why he had come to rescue her.

"I heard you had finally awoken." Snape said.

"Thank you for… I mean, Professor Sprout said that you rescued me." She said, feeling intensely uncomfortable under his dark, penetrating gaze.

"There are others here who would be glad to lend you something to wear." he said, eyeing her robe.

"Others?" Ginny asked.

"Survivors. Hogwarts students. Order members. Sympathizers." he said. "They come here, get back on their feet, and go. Mr. Potter even spent a night here." Snape sneered but it didn't have the heart it used to when they were in school. Harry had pretty muched saved the wizarding world, after all.

"I – my wand is still at the burrow." she said, feeling helpless suddenly. He shook his head and pulled it from his robes.

"No," he said and handed it to her.

"Thank you." she said, staring at it. "I feel like… if there is any way I can help –" she said.

"Tomorrow." he said. "Today you stay here and you rest." She did feel tired. She climbed back into the bed and he watched with a tiny smile. She'd never seen him smile before. "I am glad you are well." he said. Then, he was gone.

In the morning of the next day, Luna Lovegood came in with clothing for her.

"I'm leaving today, so I won't need these." she said, setting them at the foot of the bed.

"Thank you. Wait, before you go, what is it like, here?" she said. "I've not left this room." Luna cocked her head to one side – her blonde hair like a curtain behind her.

"I thought at first that it would be bad." Luna said. "I couldn't walk – I had to re-grow the bones in both of my legs." she said. Ginny shuddered in sympathy. "But there are always people willing to help and take care of you."

"How man people are here?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, about 30 at any given time." she said. "There are always people coming and going." Luna shrugged. "I came five days ago and today I leave."

"How big is this place?" Ginny wondered. 30 people were a lot of house guests.

"Big. Snape is from an old, wealthy wizarding family. It's the family mansion but right now it is a hospital and make-shift headquarters for something. I'm not sure for what." Luna admitted.

"How kind of Snape." Ginny murmured.

"I was afraid at first. I was never any good at potions. But then, no one ever sees Snape." Luna said. Ginny was confused.

"What do you mean no one ever sees him?" She asked.

"H's hardly here and has never shown himself to any of the patients here. McGonagall's in charge. She's in a wheelchair, but she's in charge." Ginny was relieved to hear that McGonagall had made it through that last battle.

"Snape saw me yesterday morning. He came in and said he was glad I was well." Ginny said. Luna smiled.

"Snape always did like you, though. Bye, Ginny." she said and left. Ginny stared after her. Snape liking her? She was a Gryffindor _and _a Weasley. She highly doubted she even registered on his radar. Then why did he come see her if what Luna said was true? She pulled on the pair of jeans. They fit around the waist but were too long. She was used to hand-me-downs. The sweater fit fine and was a pretty lavender color.

She tucked her wand in her pocket and opened the door. There was a huge balcony that went all the way around. She walked to the banister and looked down. There was a huge foyer. Above her was a crystal chandelier and she could see the marble staircase that led upstairs to where she was. All around her were doors like the one she came out of. Some were open and some closed. She could hear people talking quietly. She wandered down the hall, peering into doorways and looking for someone that she recognized. She saw Hogwarts students chatting but they were young and she had graduated four years. Finally, she saw McGonagall in her chair, having breakfast. She knocked lightly.

"Professor?" she said.

"Oh! Ginny, you look better." McGonagall said. "Come in, come in. Have you eaten? There is plenty here for two." She sat across from her former transfiguration professor.

"Thank you, I feel better. It's nice to see some familiar faces." Ginny said, remembering the lonely hours after the battle and then seeing the burrow devoid of life.

"It's hard now, but the manor is not a bad place to recover." McGonagall soothed. "Have some tea and this scone." she said and Ginny took the food gratefully.

"Luna told me a bit about here." Ginny said. "About helping people get well. Professor Snape said that if I wanted to help, I could. So anything you need me to do just let me know." Ginny said.

"You saw Severus?"" McGonagall asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, he came in yesterday morning. He had my wand. He kept it when he fetched me at the burrow." Ginny said.

"He came back and brought you to a bed himself. You looked as small as a kitten. Eat up, you're dreadfully thin."

"Luna said Professor Snape usually stays away from his… guests." Ginny said.

"Yes, it's unusual that she saw you but if he had your want, well, he probably just forgot it give it to someone else."

"Perhaps." Ginny said. She couldn't remember him ever giving her detention or treating her the way he treated Ron or Harry. She had always hated him because her brothers did but now that she thought about it, she didn't dislike him at all. "Well, I should get to work. Point me to how I can help."

"You can make rounds with Sprout." She said. "Get to know who is here. And Ginny, dear, I'm so sorry about your family. And Ron." Ginny swallowed hard.

"Thank you."


	3. chapter three

She was partway through the rounds when Snape appeared. 

"You're up." he said.

"Yes."

"You will help me, is that acceptable?" he said.

"Of course, whatever you need, sir." she said.

"Follow me." he ordered and she trailed him down the stairs. She could see people watching them go, whispering.

"Professor –" she began.

"You are not my student and I am no longer your teacher. You may call me Severus." he said. She was almost running to keep up with his long strides that, in his robes, made him seem as if he was floating.

"Severus, what are we to be doing?" she asked.

"Rebuilding the ministry of magic." he said before unlocking a door and ushering her inside. It was, what looked like, his personal office and there was an enormous fireplace inside. "We'll travel by floo."

"Why me?" she asked, stepping into the fireplace with him.

"Because you were good at every subject and I need a knowledgeable witch." he said. He held out the jar of floo powder and she took a handful. They threw it down together as he yelled, "Ministry of magic!"

They were spit unceremoniously out of the fireplace on the other end. Ginny sprawled across the floor and yelped when he landed right on top of her. She stared into his dark eyes and gave a reassuring smile. She could have sworn he almost blushed.

"Forgive me. Things are still not running smoothly." he said, scrambling off of her. She sat up and brushed herself off. The main foyer, which had once been ornate and beautiful, was now in shambles.

"How do we fix it?" she asked.

"One step at a time." he replied. "Dumbledore will be here, as well as other order members. There are many secrets here, Miss Weasley, that you will be privy to. Can we trust you?" he asked.

"Virginia," She said. "You may call me Virginia and yes, you can trust me." she said. He smirked.

"Yes, Virginia." he said. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to a bank of elevators that, thankfully, were working. She liked the feeling of his hand there, the slight pressure telling her when to turn and what direction. When did Snape become that kind of man? When did Snape ever touch anyone?

Dumbledore was in the basement room he guided her into.

"Ah, Miss Weasley!" he greeted. "Excellent choice, Severus, I know just what to do with her." he said. She turned to Snape.

"You aren't staying?" she asked.

"I'll be back in a while." he assured her and left. Dumbledore took her to a room. It was filled with Cornish Pixies; a hive of them had infested the room which looked to be filled with various body parts in jars of liquid.

"Get rid of them and come find me. There is plenty to do." Dumbledore said and left. Sighing, she fished out her want and went to work. It was only a few hours later when Snape returned, looking tired. He had a basket of food.

"I brought lunch." he said. He was limping.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Because there is so much magical energy here, magical creatures are drawn here. The whole building is infested. We have to be bloody exterminators before we can even begin to reconstruct the building. It's hard, doing it so the muggles don't notice anything." They found an empty office with two chairs and had a seat. He handed her a pastrami sandwich. It was her favorite. They chewed silently for a while.

"Severus?" she said, breaking the quiet. "How did you know I was at the burrow? I mean, my whole family is… how did you know I was alive?" she asked.

"I didn't." he said. "I saw Ron and Arthur… I saw it. But I didn't see you and I was just hoping, I suppose." he said.

"I didn't treat you with the respect you deserved at school. I was so loyal to Harry that I couldn't see the real you. I didn't even give you a chance. I was stupid." she said.

"You were a child, then." he said, forgiving her.

"I'm not a child anymore." she said, thinking of how drastically different her life was, now.

"No, you aren't." Snape said. "Virginia – you can stay with me as long as you need to. You can stay with me forever, if that's what you'd like." he said.

"Thank you." she replied. They had finished the food. He held out his hand and helped her up. It felt like the beginning of something and she was excited to see what would happen.


	4. chapter four

At the foot of the marble staircase back at the manor, Ginny was prepared to part ways. She didn't know where Snape slept but she assumed it was in a whole other wing. "I shall see you tomorrow, then?" she asked. She was tired and just wanted to collapse into bed in her little white room and to sleep. 

"Your previous room has been occupied. Follow me." he said. They by passed the staircase and went down a long hallway and through a big portrait of a sour looking wizard who sneered at the site of Ginny. She glared back. "My great-great-uncle." Snape said. Through the portrait whole was another ornate hallway. "The house is large but less complicated than Hogwarts as the stairs don't move and the portraits are, for the most part, not password protected." he explained.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. But why move me?" she asked.

"This is more permanent and comfortable, not to mention a bit more private." he said. He stopped in front of a set of double doors. Inside was a huge, four poster bed covered in a lilac comforter. There was dark, wooden furniture that gleamed and she could see there was a walk-in closet and a connecting bathroom.

"Oh, Severus, it's extraordinary." she said, walking in. "Are you quiet certain?" she asked.

"I took the liberty of getting you a new wardrobe. You can't borrow clothes forever and I wasn't sure you'd want to go back to the burrow." he said. "I don't know a thing about muggle clothes so I got you robes." he said, pointing to the closet. Inside were six sets of wizarding robes in different colors: black, purple, burgundy, green, navy, and a set of black dress robes with silver lining. She reached out and touched the sleeves gently.

"They're beautiful. I don't know how to accept all this." Ginny said, looking at him.

"This is your home now. I want you to be comfortable." He said.

"Where is your room?" she asked, shyly.

"Do you see that door?" he asked, pointing to a curtain against one wall. She hadn't noticed before but she saw a door obscured by the purple fabric. She nodded. "If you go through there, there is a sitting room that connects to my chambers." He said. She was surprised, in a house this large, that he had put her right next door to him. It made her feel safer, though, and wanted. He didn't put her at the other end of the house. He wasn't trying to pretend that she wasn't there.

"Just the two of us then." She murmured.

"For the most part. There are people who reside her part-time." He said. "Draco Malfoy has been staying across the hall for quite some time." He admitted. Ginny couldn't help but make an exasperated face. "I know you and Potter were always at ends with Draco but ever since Lucius disowned him, he's had no where to go. He's not a dark wizard, Virginia." Snape said. "You should get to know him."

"I trust your judgment." she said, not agreeing to anything. He nodded.

"Goodnight, Virginia." he said.

The first night in her new room, she marveled first at the silence. In her previous rooms at the burrow, at Hogwarts, and at the manor in what Severus called 'the ward', she could always hear people coming and going, bumps in the night. Now, the air was thick and quiet and she was restless with her thoughts. She missed Ron. She could still see him in the dark forest – mid-air, leaping in front of Harry. She sat up – she felt feverish. Working at the ministry had tired her out but she couldn't sleep. She wished she had a fireplace in her room. At school, people would always find her in the mornings in the common room, asleep in an easy chair, the fire still burning – kept alive by noiseless house elves.

She had yet to go into the shared sitting room behind the heavy, purple curtain. She pulled it back, her feet bare on the cold, wooden floor. She wore a white nightgown she had found, with a light, cotton robe. Severus had thought of everything. The door was unlocked and she pushed it open expecting darkness. Instead, the room was warm with the fire she had hoped for. On the lounge in front of it, she saw him sitting there with a book and a cup of tea. He waved her toward him and patted the cushion next to him. She stepped softly over and sat, her hair falling around her like a shield. He handed her a cup of tea, like he knew she would come. She sipped it slowly. It had cream and one sugar, just how she liked it. But, how did he know? He must have watched her take her meals at Hogwarts. Otherwise, how? He read his book. She watched the flames reach toward the sky. After nearly an hour, he closed his book and said,

"Would you like to talk about it?" She looked at him. He looked much less severe in the glow of a fire. His hair was pushed out of his face, behind his ears, and he looked his age, not the old man he made himself out to be. His outer robes were gone. He wore a white collared shirt and black slacks. He looked comfortable in his home. Hers too, now, if she decided so.

"I'm not sure." she answered honestly. "You were there. How did you… get through it?" she asked. "Because, what I remember is fragmented at best."

"I did the same thing you did. I stayed low. I fought people I knew I could defeat only. I let a 21-year-old boy fight the hard fight." He said, rubbing his face tiredly. "Not my proudest moment but who am I to intrude on fate, right?"

"I think I hid." she said. "I would have laid there until I starved to death, at home." she admitted.

"And I just couldn't have that." he said, not unkindly.

"So you say." she murmured. "I think I'll stay here." she said. "For as long as you'll have me. Goodnight, Severus." she stood and retired back to her bed, where she slept. Severus felt relived.


	5. chapter five

Most nights, Severus was in their sitting room. Ginny feared the man never slept. Some nights, she didn't go to him. She wanted to see if she would be okay without him but she lay awake all night, wondering if he was thinking about her. They spent their days at the ministry and came home just as night began to fall. It was mid-summer and she was beginning to wonder what was going to happen when Hogwarts reopened in the fall. She didn't ask, though, for asking made it seem so real. She didn't want to sit alone in this big house all year, sponging off him. She had what little there was in her family's Gringott's account but that had never been a large sum. She needed a job when the summer ended, that much was clear. 

They took their meals together. Sometimes alone in the enormous, austere dining room, sometimes with McGonagall and Dumbledore and a few other Hogwarts professors who were around that day. Ginny felt horribly out of place when that happened, for Severus as well as herself. It made her look like a tag along and like his mistress. They hadn't discussed what sort of relationship they had. They had only ever talked but he had invited her to stay, to forever be a part of his life. Did she love him? she didn't know.

Dumbledore, though, took pains to keep her included in the conversations, somber as they were. Sometimes, at meals, Severus would bump his knee into hers and he wouldn't move it away. She was grateful for any contact with him.

At the beginning of August, she had her birthday and told no one. She lied to Severus that morning, citing she didn't feel well and stayed back at the, now, mostly empty manor. Today, she decided, she would return to the burrow. She wanted to take what was valuable to her and perhaps sell the rest. She would probably sell the house as well. She apparated into the front yard. The garden was overgrown and overrun with gnomes. Inside was the same. There were still dishes in the sink and laundry to be done. She looked at her mother's clock. Only three faces remained: hers, her father's, and Percy's. Both her father and Percy were at "lost". Apparently, the clock's magic couldn't recognize her father as the same person anymore. She watched her younger face move from "vacation" to "home". Vacation? She thought it strange. She went to her room first to retrieve her trunk. It was empty and she brought it back downstairs. She would not bring more than this away with her. She put the family photo albums in first, then the throw blanket on the sofa that had been there since before her birth. She decided to put in her family's collection of spell books as well as her mother's cook books. Moving through the rooms, she tossed in things.

In her mother's closet, she pulled a hat box down from the upper shelf. Inside was the gift her father had given to her mother on their wedding day. It was a beautiful, black, silk cone hat with a silver hat pin that had a bat at the end. Carefully, she piled her hair on the top of her head and put on the hat. She got her trunk and apparated away. She was no longer a child. Today was her 21st birthday and she was leaving this childhood, painful and wonderful as it was, behind.

Her mother never wore the hat. She said it was "too nice" but Ginny decided that she would wear it until it came apart at the seams and then she would have it repaired and wear it some more. She would find someone else to deal with the rest of the house. Perhaps if she gave the house to Harry, he would get out of St. Mungo's. He'd always loved the burrow most of all anyway.

It was still early, so she decided to go to St. Mungo's to see Harry. And, maybe, her father. Inside the building, the receptionist stared at her. For once in her life, she didn't match her name. She didn't look poor.

"I'm here to see Harry Potter." she said.

"Mr. Potter is not accepting visitors, today." she said, snidely, knowing she held such power over the hero of the century.

"He will see me." she demanded. "Tell him who I am." He saw her because he had not known she had survived. He didn't say anything when she entered. "Harry, I want you to have the burrow." she said, deciding to be straightforward. He opened his eyes to look at her, from the bed.

"I thought you all had died." he said, his voice hoarse from not speaking for so long.

"Well, I didn't and I no longer live at home." she said. "So it ought to belong to you."

"I couldn't…"

"You will. Get out of this place, Harry." she ordered. "And when you do, come find me and I'll show you what you need to know." With that, she left. She didn't have to ask anyone where her father was. She remembered. His room was quiet and he looked much the same. She sat in the chair across from him with a small, round table between them. She took his hands in hers and pulled the rubber duck from the pocket of her green robes. He took it and turned it around slowly. He moved to pull something from his robe and handed it to her. She felt her throat close. It was her mother's wedding ring. Leaning forward, she kissed her father's forehead and moved to leave. Her father had gone back to his catatonic state, but he held the duck to his chest.

Back at the manor, Severus was waiting for her in the hall outside their rooms.

"You weren't sick." he said.

"No, I wasn't." she said. "I went…" she almost said home, but realized that her home was here, at the manor, now. "I went to the burrow."

"Oh." The anger melted away to concern. "Oh. I would have…"

"I needed to…"

"I understand." he said. "Do you want dinner?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Perhaps in a while." she opened her door and walked inside. "You can come in, if you'd like." she offered. She removed her hat and she it carefully on the dresser. He watched her gentle movements silently. "I saw my father. I saw Harry." she said.

"Still in the hospital?" he asked, not knowing what to say.

"Not for long. I gave him the house." her expression dared him to stay anything critical. "Severus, what is going to happen when you go back to Hogwarts? I need a job. I simply cannot live off of you forever." she exploded.

"There is plenty for you to do, plenty of people who would hire you." he snapped. "I just thought you might want to rest for a while." Snape said. "Come to dinner or don't." he left, shut the door and stomped through the portrait. She sat on her bed sadly. She'd made him mad and it made her feel horrible. She looked around at all he had given her and felt selfish and ungrateful. When she went out to look for him, he was nowhere to be found. She waited up in the sitting room a while with tea and biscuits. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer and checked to see if his bedroom was unlocked or unoccupied. The door opened noiselessly. His room was dark – dark fabric and dark wood. Without thinking, she climbed into his bed and fell asleep.

He came in late.

"I'm sorry." he said, touching her hair, pushing it out of her face.

"No, I am." she said. She pushed the covers back and made room for him to slide in to the bed with her. He hesitated but finally removed his outer clothes and carefully lay down. "Do you love me, Severus?" she asked, the dark making her brave. There was a pregnant pause. She could tell he was holding his breath. Finally, with a big sigh he said,

"Yes." She moved closer to him and put her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and the slept, heartbeat to heartbeat.

GreenEyesBlind: you're correct, but this story so so AU that i might as well leave it. thanks, though.

thanks to everyone who has been commenting and reading. i appriciate it.


	6. chapter six

The morning was a little awkward. Both lay awake for a long time, pretending to sleep. She had wrapped herself around him in the night. Their legs were tangled and her head was tucked underneath his chin. She didn't want to move but the sun and risen and their work didn't understand things like weekends. 

"Are you awake, then?" he asked and she sat up a little. The bed was huge but they both had gravitated to the middle of it.

"I apologize about last night." she said, again, to be sure. "I didn't mean to invade your personal space either." The light was harsh and her bravery had dissipated.

"If I had thought of you as an invasion, I – Ginny, you need to stop apologizing for everything." he said softly. He had never called her Ginny before. "I know that being the youngest of six and the only girl would have made you somewhat this way, but having you here last night was a good thing and I never want to hear you say otherwise again." he said. She lay back down in his arms with a sassy,

"Yes, Professor." But she felt relieved. "I really will miss you when you go back to school." she said. He kissed the top of her head, but said nothing.

At the ministry, later, Dumbledore pulled her aside.

"It occurs to me, Miss Weasley, that I have a solution to your problem." he said.

"Problem?" she asked, confused. She thought she'd been doing the tasks she'd been given well.

"After this is done, you will probably be in search of a job and yet you don't wish to be away from Severus. Am I right in my assumption?"

"About Severus…" she said, feeling the need to explain.

"He's happy, Ginny, and I can't question that." Dumbledore said kindly.

"Then yes, I suppose you are correct." she smiled, glad the headmaster approved.

"I am old." he said bluntly, "and with Hogwarts reopening after a year of war, there will be a lot more than perhaps even I will be able to handle on my own." he admitted freely. "So, would you, Miss Weasley, like a job helping run my office?" It took a moment to realize what had just happened.

"A job? At Hogwarts? With you?" she asked in disbelief. He was chuckling now. "Yes, sir, a million times yes!" she said, grinning. "Thank you."

She practically broke into a run to find Severus. He was in the main hall, putting the heads back onto busted statues. She leapt into his arms.

"He gave me a job!" she yelled and pressed her lips to his in glee. Suddenly, the mood changed. He pushed them back up until she felt a wall. He grabbed her face with his hands and started kissing her for all she was worth. She felt almost dizzy to have him so close – his hair around her, his nose pressed into hers, his tongue pushing against her teeth until she parted them and then, oh, she was on fire. Her knees were going to give but she didn't care because she knew he would hold her up. She couldn't breathe but it didn't matter and then,

"Hem, hem." That noise still made Ginny shudder in horror. Severus broke the kiss just enough to turn his head and kill whoever was interrupting them. "Hi, Ginny." It was Harry.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, happy to see he'd checked himself out of the hospital.

"You said to come find you when…" he trailed off.

"Impeccable timing as always, Mr. Potter." Snape sneered. Ginny put her hand on his cheek.

"Will you excuse me?" she asked, quietly.

"Then will you explain to me what that was about?" he said, breathing into her ear and it made her quiver.

"I will." she promised. He stalked away towards a dark hallway and left them next to what was once a glorious fountain that had saved Harry's life. "Hello, Harry."

"Snape? SNAPE?!?" he said, looking like he'd just eaten something disgusting.

"You don't know him, Harry, and you've never tried to." Ginny admonished. "But, I am glad to see you." she hugged him.

"You look great." he said, sadly. "You really do."

"Best that I can." she said. They didn't want to talk about the horrible waste of her family's death. "Did you consider my offer?"

"Yes," he said. "I would… I would be grateful. Do you?" he pointed to where Snape had gone.

"I live at his manor now, yes, but Dumbledore gave me a job so I'll get to live at Hogwarts during the year." she said. "We were just – ah – celebrating."

"I _really _don't want to know about your celebrations." he said, holding up a hand. "But, congratulations all the same."

"I'll take a day and show you all the personality ticks of the burrow but for now, everything inside is yours. I've taken all I want." she said.

"Have you heard anything about Hermione?" he asked. She shook her head sadly.

"Still missing but no one has found… I mean, there is no proof that she's dead. You have to have hope." she said. He nodded, hugged her goodbye, and went to his new home. She wandered away to find Severus. He was waiting for her just down the hall.

"Dumbledore gave me a job in his office," She said. "which is why I came to find you. We'll both go to Hogwarts." she said. He managed a smile.

"You kissed me." he said, finally.

"Yes, I got a little excited. I did it without even thinking about how I'd never kissed you before but I rather enjoyed it all the same." she said.

"I never thought another woman would ever kiss me again." he said.

"Oh, I plan to kiss you all the time." she assured him. "Starting right now."


	7. chapter seven

Ginny received owls all day. Mostly, from Slytherin parents who felt their children were not safe after such a war. Many Slytherin parents were in Azkaban. Many parents – of ever house – were dead. Students knew Ginny's job was with the headmaster, but they began to use her as a guidance counselor as well. She was the closest faculty member to their age, after all. Sometimes, it was the younger siblings of people she had gone to Hogwarts with, like Seamus Finnigan's little sister, Greta, who was a second year Ravenclaw. She knew where Ginny's office was, in a room to the left of the gargoyle, and so Ginny would let her study in there when she felt as if she couldn't face the rest of the school. 

"I should have been a Gryffindor, like Seamus." Greta said. Seamus hadn't made it through the war.

"Honey, that hat knows best." she said. "You are brilliant and fit well in Ravenclaw."

"You were a Gryffindor." she said, impatiently. "It seems everyone worth anything in the war was."

"Here is what I've learned about houses – They tell you your strongest qualities, perhaps, but it doesn't mean you don't have other house attributes. And, I wouldn't let your house constrict you. If you want to date or be friends with only Ravenclaws, you might miss out on really good friendships." Ginny said, thinking of Severus.

"I suppose," Greta replied. "Though I could never see a Slytherin." she wrinkled her nose at the thought and made Ginny laugh.

"You'd be surprised." she chuckled. Ginny and Snape's relationship was not common knowledge among the students and some of the staff, even. "Now, go to dinner." she said. The girl gathered her things and left with a trailing goodbye. Ginny answered a few more owls and then headed to dinner herself.

Ginny had her own chambers but often spent the night with Snape. She hoped Harry still had the marauder's map because it would be obvious where she was if anyone wanted to check. It wasn't a secret; she just didn't want Severus to be fodder for student gossip.

One night, while he graded papers and she sat reading by the fire, she said,

"Severus, I've got some news." he looked up from the D he was giving the majority of the third year Hufflepuffs.

"Go on then," he said. Hufflepuffs always made him sour.

"I'm going to have a baby." she said, more calm than she felt. She thought he might ask her to leave and never return. He stared at her for a long time.

"When?" he decided on, lamely.

"Oh! Um… about July, I would guess." she said.

"And you're certain?" he asked,

"Yes, I saw Madam Pomfrey this morning." she said, her heart falling. He didn't seem excited in the least. At last, he rose and came to sit next to her on the love seat. He kissed her forehead.

"You keep giving me things I think I've lost all chance of ever having." he said. "I never dreamed I would have a family."

"You're not upset?" she asked.

"No, just surprised." he said. "And I hope that it looks like you."

"Another Weasley brat." she said, sighing with relief. "Though I don't suppose we ought to have seven."

"No," he agreed. "Let's just start with one." They sat silently for a while. "You know what?" Severus said.

"What?" she said.

"We should be married." he said. Now it was her turn to stare.

"Really?" she said, suddenly excited. "You really mean that?" He nodded.

"Over Christmas, when the students are away." he said. She could wait a month if she could wait nine. She'd been thinking of him as a father and could hardly picture it. Would he be gentle and kind or cruel and cold like he'd been to the students and to her, even, when she was in his potions class? Would she be any good at it, for that matter? Molly Weasley had her first baby at 19, two years out of Hogwarts, barely. She was already 21. If her mum could do it, then so could she. If she thought about her life now versus the first time she'd seen Hogwarts – her head reeled. Impregnated by Snape? She would have hexed anyone who'd mentioned it but now, she was happy.

Few students noticed the demure gold band on her left hand ring finger when they returned from their winter holiday. Dumbledore had married them in Hogsmede with McGonagall and Harry (Ginny had begged) as witnesses. Harry and Snape had agreed to be cordial to each other when Harry had said, "Ginny is the only family either of us has." And Snape knew it to be true. Their marriage sailed by without a hitch but Ginny knew she could not hide a pregnancy. Luckily, she didn't stand in front of a class all day. Students mostly saw her sitting behind a desk at and meals. Soon, though, it was no longer a secret. Miss Weasley, Dumbledore's gatekeeper, was with child. The thing was, no one had the nerve to ask whose it was. Once Andrea Sheppard, a Slytherin 6th year, figured it out, it tore through the school. Snape was particularly cruel to whoever snickered about it in his classes and was out late every night with detentions.

"Is it far too scandalous? I can leave." Ginny asked Dumbledore at the beginning of April.

"You are married." he said.

"Yes, but they know that he was my professor once. You should hear the rumors and speculations." she said, her cheeks aflame.

"Wars change people, Miss Weasley. You fought on the side of good and at the side of Severus. War changes people and best they learn that sooner rather than later." he was somber now.

"I just want to rebuild my life." she said. "I lost my whole family."

"Yes," he said, sadly. "you did."


	8. chapter eight

So Ginny stayed. By the end of the school year, Madame Pomfrey had told her to stay in bed for most of the day. Ginny was so small, she was worried about her health. She didn't attend graduation and was actually happy when they arrived back at the manor. The connecting room, with a flick of Snape's wand, became a nursery; the beautiful four-poster bed Ginny had slept in was now a small, white crib. 

The baby came a few weeks early. She felt the pains and they went to St. Mungo's. Snape had offered to have mediwitches but she didn't want anything to go wrong. There were no spells to make childbirth not painful. Snape brewed her a pain lessening potion but she was slight of frame and the baby was large. Severus paced outside her room for hours. He owled Harry at the burrow because Ginny would have wanted it. He came in the middle of the night, looking tired but uncomplaining. He made no move to speak to his old professor, just sa in the waiting room offering silent support.

"You can go," Snape said. "if you're tired. I'll tell her you came and owl you." The sun was coming up now and Severus was offering Harry an olive branch, not sending him away.

"No," Harry said. "I'll stay." There was silence. "You know her father is here, right?"

"Yes, I know. Incurable ward." Snape muttered.

"He's mostly out of it but I think that he might like to see the baby. Mr. Weasley reacts well to Ginny. He gave her Molly's ring when Ginny came last August, on her birthday." Snape looked up.

"Birthday?" he said, realizing he'd been with her over a year now and hadn't experienced her birthday. She'd known his, somehow, and had given him a first edition potions text.

"August 7th. The day she gave me the burrow. Backwards, eh?" Snape buried his face in his hands.

"She is too good for me." he moaned.

"Yes." Harry agreed, blandly. "But if you make her happy…" he shrugged the rest of the sentence away. Thankfully, the door to Ginny's room opened an the nurse ushered Severus inside while Harry waited. Ginny was pale and exhausted but there was a baby in her arms, attached to her breast.

"Hello," Ginny said. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Snape laughed and leaned over them, peering into the baby's red, wrinkled face.

"What is it?" he asked, afraid to touch either of them.

"A baby, Severus." she said dully and he glared. "A girl." she said. The baby had tufts of dark, red hair on her head and would most likely have brown eyes like both of her parents. "I'd like to call her Ophelia, if that is all right with you." she said and he nodded because he would give her whatever she wanted.

"Potter is out there, if you feel up to one more visitor." he said, feeling generous.

"Sharing my secrets, no doubt." she said. "I owl him."

"I know. Sorry I missed your birthday." he said, sheepishly. She laughed and the baby started and began to cry.

"Why don't you hold her?" Ginny asked. She lifted the bundle up and Snape carefully held his daughter, careful not to hurt her. The baby quieted and went to sleep. Snape was in love all over again.


	9. chapter nine

Ophelia was two when Harry found Hermione and brought her back to the burrow. She had, in fact, had her memory modified and so she went back to the life she had known the longest – being a muggle. When Harry saw her, it was from behind and she was getting onto the subway. He wasn't even sure it was her but he jumped the turnstile and knocked over six muggles to get to her, yanking her out of the tube at the last moment before the doors closed blaring "mind the gap". She shrieked and there were security guards and when she saw his face he saw no flicker of recognition. 

"Hermione, please, we have to run." he said, his other hand on his wand in his pocket and the guards moving in on them.

"Who are you?" she asked but at his panicked expression she decided she had nothing left to lose and when he started running, she was right on his heels. "Okay, stop, stop." she said, finally, out of breath a few blocks away from Diagon Alley, outside a Starbuck's. "Who the hell are you?"

"It's me, Harry. Don't you remember anything, Hermione?" he asked, his head hung low. "I've been searching for you."

"For me?" she asked. "I haven't a clue who you are or how you know me. I was in a car accident." she said.

"A what?" he shook his head. "You've had your memory erased."

"That's absurd. It's called amnesia and it's due to the concussion from hitting my head on the steering wheel. I was in the hospital for months. It took me forever to remember my own name and I'm just now on my own feet and… and I won't have you ruining that with your rubbish." she said and turn in that way that she always did to walk back towards the subway station.

"Wait! You don't even know how to drive a car! No! Wait! Please let me prove it to you. We were best friends." he said. "Please, let me try." he begged. She stopped again and looked at her watch.

"Okay." she said and followed him uneasily to the brick wall that opened to Diagon Alley. She looked at him as if he were insane when he pulled out his wand and then gasped as the wall opened. "What are you getting at?" she said, more scared than angry.

"You're a witch, Hermione, surely you've not forgotten that – forgotten Hogwarts?" he said.

"A witch?" she asked.

"Best in our year." he said. "Best I've ever known." she wasn't sure why, but she followed him.

When Ginny got word, she screamed so loud she woke her daughter from her nap and sent Severus scurrying down the stairs if a panicked fit.

"Ginny, what?" he asked, out of breath and looking at her standing in the library with nothing but a wrinkled bit of parchment in her hand.

"He's gone and done it. He's found Hermione and she thinks she's a muggle." Ginny said.

"Oh, is that all? Bloody hell, I thought something had come to rip off your head." he said, leaning over to try and catch his breath. Ophelia padded out into where her parents were shouting in her purple feet pajamas, her dark red hair in a long braid down her back. She still didn't speak very much and Ginny was beginning to worry. Severus told her not to be concerned, that she would speak when she was good and ready, but Ginny fretted all the same. The child had dark brown eyes and her father's clear, white skin. Not a freckle to be found on the child and for that Ginny was grateful. Now, Ophelia reached up silently and grasped her father's hand. She loved Ginny and spent the most time with her mother but she was a daddy's girl.

"Is that all?" Ginny said, exasperated and threw her hands in the air and went to the study to owl Harry back.

_Harry,_

_I am so relieved to hear this. Bring her to the manor to recuperate like we all have done. Perhaps Severus knows a way to reverse the charm. I shall ask him instantly. _

_Ginny_

She tied the letter to the new black owl, Lenore, and she soared out the window. She watched the bird filled with hope. Severus came to the doorway of the study with his arms full of their daughter who had already fallen back asleep on his shoulder.

"I have to go away for a few days." he said. "At Dumbledore's request."

"To Hogwarts?" she asked. She never liked when he went away.

"Yes." Severus had resigned his position as potions master at the school but Dumbledore still called him in every month or so to help the new professor or brew a potion he needed or sometimes for advice.

"When?" she asked.

"In the morning." he said. "Would you like to… I mean, It's the weekend, I'm sure we all could go." he said.

"I invited Harry and Hermione to stay just now so I'd better not. I meant to ask, is there a way to reverse memory charms? Do you know of anyway to help Hermione?" she asked.

"I'll have a look at her." he conceded. "When I return." They spoke in hushed tones as not to wake the child. Severus left to put her back in her room and Ginny followed. Instead, Severus opened their bedroom door and all three climbed onto the big bed and finished Ophelia's nap as a family. Ginny slept with her forehead pressed to her husband's.

In the morning, Harry arrived with Hermione who looked surprise at everything she saw. Harry and Severus has been on what might be considered good terms if you knew the two of them as well as Ginny did. Ginny hugged Hermione close and she just stood there as stiff as a board but completely healthy except for not knowing who she was.

"I'm so relieved to see you." Ginny said and Hermione smiled weakly. Harry shrugged and hung his head. Severus stood behind Ginny glaring at his former student.

"I'm afraid I don't know you." she said. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, well, it's all right. We'll catch up in no time. I'm Ginny Snape. This is my husband, Severus." she said. "He's insufferable, so don't mind him."

"She was a Weasley, Ron's brother." Harry supplied. "Before she married Snape here."

"I am standing right here, I would appreciate it if you didn't speak of me as if I weren't." he snapped and stalked out. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Harry always makes him sour. Come on, we'll get you two settled in and have some tea." she said and Hermione and Harry followed her to the guest wing. She gave them rooms across the hall from each other and called the house elf to arrange some tea. Harry and Ginny waited for a reaction to the elf who came and set the silver tray down but Hermione just looked frightened and said,

"Thank you," to the small elf. Harry shrugged again but looked defeated.

"I'm sure you're tired of talking about yourself, so what would you like to discuss?" Ginny asked Hermione, kindly. She smiled gratefully.

"Tell me about your husband?" she said, hopeful. "I just want to relearn everything as fast as possible."

"Well, that sure sounds like her." Harry said.

"Severus was a professor at Hogwarts for years and years. He was the potions master." she said.

"Potions?" Hermione asked.

"Like chemistry. As students, Harry and I both despised him. He was kind, though, after the war – he saved my life and it wasn't hard to become somewhat attached. Once you get past the cold exterior, he is wonderful." she said. "We have a daughter, Ophelia. You've not met her, she's two." Ginny said. On schedule, Severus brought their daughter in for breakfast and tea.

"Ophelia, darling, this is our friend Hermione. Can you say hello?" Ginny said, pulling the girl into her lap. She snuggled into her mother and said nothing. "She hasn't started speaking yet." Ginny fretted. Severus laid his hand on top of hers in comfort.

"Were you ever my Professor, then?" Hermione asked Snape who was decked in his usual black robes, and bored expression.

"Yes." he said.

"How did I fare?" she asked, thirsty for her past.

"You were know-it-all but you did well on exams." he said. Ginny smacked him lightly.

"That was a compliment, really." she said. "He was my Professor as well, eh Severus?" she liked to tease him. It was one of the few things that made him blush.

"Tell me the last thing you remember." Snape ordered Hermione, not beating around the bush or giving her a reprieve like Ginny did.

"Oh, um, waking up in the hospital, I suppose. The doctor told me I had wandered into the emergency room babbling nonsense so they sedated me." she said.

"Have you been having flashes of anything, deja-vu, anything that seems familiar but you cannot place it?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. Harry has shown me pictures but the girl in the photos might as well be someone else. It's rather disconcerting how they move." she said. "I can't imagine I was ever a part of this world."

"I have business at Hogwarts. I'll brew a potion while I'm there that may help you." he said, rising.

"Now?" Ginny asked. He nodded once, curtly. "Excuse me, I'm going to see him off, I'll be back in a moment." she said, and lifted Ophelia into her arms and followed him to the study where the floo fireplace was. Alone in the study, she kissed him goodbye softly.

"Just for a few days, love, and you have Potter and Granger to keep you occupied." he said. "Goodbye my little pet." he said and Ophelia hugged him silently. "I love you both."

"I love you too Severus. Tell daddy goodbye." she said. Ophelia waved with a forlorn expression. She didn't like when her father left. Ginny watched him engulfed by the flames sadly as well and wandered back downstairs to her guests.


End file.
